“New Hampshire Caucuses” — Perry’s latest gaffe

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is cementing his position as the not-ready-for-prime-time player in Republicans’ crowded presidential field.

Perry. LISA KRANTZ / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

The gaffe-a-matic governor struck again on Wednesday, confusing America’s first-in-the-nation primary (New Hampshire) with the country’s first presidential caucuses (Iowa).

Discussing Republicans who haven’t made up their minds, Perry declared:

“We’re going to be talking about it, and we’re going to be talking about that in harsh and strong terms over the course of the next four weeks as we get ready for those New Hampshire caucuses.”

The latest flub came a day after Perry, speaking to a New Hampshire college audience, urged students to vote for him if they were 21, and otherwise to work for him looking forward to the Nov. 12 (2012) election date.

The voting age in America has been 18 since the Nixon administration, and Nov. 8 is next year’s election day.

“Look, I’m a human being, I’m going to make some mistakes from time to time in my remarks,” Perry told Fox & Friends.

With a series of “Oops!” moments — notably in a debate where he couldn’t remember the name of a Cabinet department he would abolish — Perry has fallen into the single digits in polls of GOP voters’ preference.

He is advertising heavily, including a buy of nearly $1 million on the Fox News Channel, but shows no signs of recovery.